The Spartakus Revolts How did Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht come to prominence in the German political scene by 1919, and what was the motivation and objective of the Spartakus movement?
Karl Liebknecht’s rise to prominence in the German political scene began in 1900, when he became a member of the Socialist Democratic Part of Germany. Liebknecht was also president of the Socialist Youth International from 1907 and 1910, and also wrote extensively against militarism, the belief that the government should maintain strong military capability and be prepared to use aggressive force in order to defend national interests. Liebknecht was so outspoken about his beliefs against it that he was arrested in 1907 and imprisoned in Glatz, Prussian Selsia. Liebknecht gained the most publicity however, when he was elected to the Reichstag as a Social-Democrat. He was widely known for his opposition of Germany’s involvement in WWI, and rising up to prevent further loans to fund war. Through his work, Liebknecht began to become a well known left-wing socialist, and paired up with Rosa Luxemburg by 1914 in order to create the Spartacist party, or the anti-war league.
Rosa Luxemburg’s rise to prominence originated from her organization of a general strike in Poland, where she was a member of the left-wing Proletariat party in 1886. In 1893, Luxemburg founded the newspaper Sprawa Robotnicza in order to oppose nationalist policies of the Polish Socialist Party. This opposition was due to Luxemburg’s firm belief that an independent Poland can only exist through socialist revolution in Germany, Austria, and Russia. Although she fought for an independent Poland, Luxemburg’s political battle was mainly against capitalism. She and Leo Jogiches soon co-founded the Social Democratic Party of the Kingdom of Poland. In 1898 after marrying Gustav Lubeck, she obtained German citizen ship and became active in the left wing of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. Luxemburg’s public speaking skills made her an admirable spokeswoman in denouncing the SPD’s reformist parliamentary course, and also argued that the proletariat needed to come into power in order to produce revolutionary changes in production methods. From 1900 Luxemburg published a series of analyses on various European socio-economic problems, as well as speaking out against militarism and imperialism when she sensed the onset of the war. These shared interests with Liebknecht eventually led to the creation of the Die Internationale group, and led to the Spartacus League in January of 1916.
The motivation and the objective of the Spartakus movement was to lead a Communist revolution and to wipe out capitalism. This movement was however ultimately rejected. This type of radical communism portrayed by Luxemburg and Liebnecht was rejected by the Congress, which caused the two to react in 1919 with force. The two leading Sparticists attempted to force communism upon Germany, but were crushed by the German socialist government, and were killed.
Why did the Spartakus revolt fail? What factors might have been altered to bring it greater success?
The Spartakus Revolts ultimately failed due to President Friedrich Ebert’s strategic maneuvers and his use of the Freikorps to bring order back into Germany. During the beginning of the revolts in January of 1919, Ebert withdrew his government to the safety of Weimar Germany and allowed the Freikorps to do their job to restore balance and order. This however, came at the price of many Spartacist and Communist lives. Had the Spartacists been properly trained with military training and been given the proper equipment, including firearms, then perhaps the Spartakus Revolts would have been much more successful. Another factor which could have also led to the prolonging and success of the movement was to have more than two true leaders of the movement. After Liebknecht and Luxemburg died, the party ultimately fell into temporary disarray, and by 1928 had fallen into a minority political party.
To what extent were the German reactions to the Spartakus movement a reaction to the events in Russia at the same time?
The German reactions to the Spartakus movement was connected to the events going on in Russia due to the spread of communism. After German soldiers had returned home from the war front, they had become disillusioned with the German government and became suspicious of anything to do with left-winged political beliefs which mimicked the “Red Plague” or spread of communism found in Russia. The Germans were not going to tolerate such radical viewpoints to be accepted in their native country, so with the rise of the Spartacus League came trouble. From the beginning Liebknecht and Luxemburg outwardly spoke with a left-winged fashion, and seemed to support the “Red Plague” so many Germans were eager to avoid. Because of these firmly held beliefs and dispositions against communism, the Spartakus Revolt failed, which directly reflected the German people’s viewpoint of the Red Plague occurring in Russia at the time.
Weitz, Eric D. ""Rosa Luxemburg Belongs to Us!" German Communism and the Luxemburg Legacy." Central European History. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University, 1994. 27-64. JSTOR. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/4546390>.
The Weimar Republic:
1) What were the founding principles of the Weimar Republic, and how did those parallel or depart from the organizing principles of the preceding Second Reich?
Weimar Republic:
After Germany lost the First World War, the Kaiser fled and a new democratic government of Germany was declared in February 1919 at the small town of Weimar. The new country had the following founding principles:
A Bill of Rights guaranteed every German citizen freedom of speech and religion, and equality under the law.
All men and women over the age of 20 were given the vote. This was even better than Britain where only women over 30 could vote.
There was an elected president and an elected Reichstag (parliament).
Everything was good, but there were two major weaknesses. Hidden in the detail were two flaws that eventually destroyed the Republic:
Proportional representation - instead of voting for a Member of Parliament, Weimar Germans voted for a party. Each party was then allocated seats in the Reichstag exactly reflecting the number of people who had voted for it. This sounds fair, but in practice it was a disaster it resulted in dozens of tiny parties, with no party strong enough to get a majority, and, therefore, no government to get its laws passed in the Reichstag.
Article 48 - this said that, in an emergency, the president did not need the agreement of the Reichstag, but could issue decrees. The problem with this was that it did not say what an emergency was, and in the end, it turned out to be a back door that Hitler used to take power legally.
Second Reich:
The German empire was an authoritarian state.
The parliament was elected but had limited powers.
The nobility remained strongly privileged elite, and the monarchy retained its powers, including absolute control over the military.
Bismarck introduced the most advanced social legislation of any country and granted extensive civil rights, but he did so in order to maintain the sovereignty of the traditional elite.
Bismarck firmly rejected all claims for the democratic rule of the majority and maintained the autocratic rule of the Prussian nobility.
The economy was booming and German businessmen were enjoying a newfound wealth. Their patriotism was aroused by the series of German victories over its three main adversaries.
As the new German Reich continued to expand economically, more of the population enjoyed a better financial situation, greatly increased social support from the state, and a new self-image as part of a great new world power.
This new sense of German identity, coming at the end of more than a half century of nationalist frustrations, exerted an almost intoxicating influence, even over portions of the society that were not sharing greatly in the material gains.
The similarity between the Weimar Republic and the Second Reich is the structure of the Government
2) To what extent could the Weimar Republic be viewed as instituting a legitimate liberalist democracy in Germany for the first time? What groups tended to support and oppose it?
The failure of Germany’s first true democracy was the result of choices made by Weimar Germans during its brief life. In every historical period major development such as wars, peace treaties and economic crisis limit the freedom of individual action. Certainly for Weimar Germans defeat in World War I, the Versailles Treaty, inflation and depression made the development and survival of democracy difficult. Yet while these factors were important they did not doom the Republic to inevitable failure. Within the limits imposed by these major factors numerous courses of action and results were possible and were determined by decisions and choices that individuals made. The fate of the Weimar Republic was in the hands of its leaders and its citizens.
Communist Party (KPD) - The Communists were in favor of a Russian style dictatorship and during the Weimar period fell more and more under the control of the Communist international based in Moscow. While the party had a strong feminist agenda, as well as the only prominent woman party leaders and the most women candidates for office across the political spectrum, this position did not translate into substantial female voting support. Although the party opposed anti-Semitism and had Jews among its leaders, very few German Jews voted Communist. During the crisis of the last Weimar years the parties voting strength grew substantially as it attracted support from the growing ranks of the unemployed.
German Nationalist People’s Party (DNVP) - The party attracted the more conservative elements among the white collar clerical and retail sales workers. It was militaristic, resistant to republican government, opposed to attempts to fulfill the terms of the Versailles treaty, and anti-Semitic.
3) Why did the Weimar Republic fail to provide political & social stability for Germany? To what extent was National Socialism (the Nazi movement) rooted in these failures?
The Weimar Republic was created at a time of confusion and chaos after Germany had lost the First World War. Many people felt that Germany had received a very harsh deal in the Treaty of Versailles and they resented the government for signing it and agreeing to its conditions.
Germany between 1918 and 1919 was in chaos. People were starving, the Kaiser had fled and people hated the government for signing the armistice in November 1918 - they called them the November criminals.
There was continuous violence and unrest:
In March 1920, there was a rebellion - the Kappa Putsch - that aimed to set up a new government as the rebels were angry at them for signing the Treaty of Versailles.
Nationalist terror groups assassinated 356 government politicians.
Many of the people in Germany were communists, who wanted to bring in a Russian-style communist government. There were a number of communist uprisings. For instance, in 1919 the Spartacists rebelled in Berlin.
Bibliography:
“Choices and Consequences in Weimar Germany." Overview. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.
"Mizzou OnlineGerman 2320: German Civilization 1850 to Present (Writing Intensive)."
How did Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht come to prominence in the German political scene by 1919, and what was the motivation and objective of the Spartakus movement?
Karl Liebknecht’s rise to prominence in the German political scene began in 1900, when he became a member of the Socialist Democratic Part of Germany. Liebknecht was also president of the Socialist Youth International from 1907 and 1910, and also wrote extensively against militarism, the belief that the government should maintain strong military capability and be prepared to use aggressive force in order to defend national interests. Liebknecht was so outspoken about his beliefs against it that he was arrested in 1907 and imprisoned in Glatz, Prussian Selsia. Liebknecht gained the most publicity however, when he was elected to the Reichstag as a Social-Democrat. He was widely known for his opposition of Germany’s involvement in WWI, and rising up to prevent further loans to fund war. Through his work, Liebknecht began to become a well known left-wing socialist, and paired up with Rosa Luxemburg by 1914 in order to create the Spartacist party, or the anti-war league.
Rosa Luxemburg’s rise to prominence originated from her organization of a general strike in Poland, where she was a member of the left-wing Proletariat party in 1886. In 1893, Luxemburg founded the newspaper Sprawa Robotnicza in order to oppose nationalist policies of the Polish Socialist Party. This opposition was due to Luxemburg’s firm belief that an independent Poland can only exist through socialist revolution in Germany, Austria, and Russia. Although she fought for an independent Poland, Luxemburg’s political battle was mainly against capitalism. She and Leo Jogiches soon co-founded the Social Democratic Party of the Kingdom of Poland. In 1898 after marrying Gustav Lubeck, she obtained German citizen ship and became active in the left wing of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. Luxemburg’s public speaking skills made her an admirable spokeswoman in denouncing the SPD’s reformist parliamentary course, and also argued that the proletariat needed to come into power in order to produce revolutionary changes in production methods. From 1900 Luxemburg published a series of analyses on various European socio-economic problems, as well as speaking out against militarism and imperialism when she sensed the onset of the war. These shared interests with Liebknecht eventually led to the creation of the Die Internationale group, and led to the Spartacus League in January of 1916.
The motivation and the objective of the Spartakus movement was to lead a Communist revolution and to wipe out capitalism. This movement was however ultimately rejected. This type of radical communism portrayed by Luxemburg and Liebnecht was rejected by the Congress, which caused the two to react in 1919 with force. The two leading Sparticists attempted to force communism upon Germany, but were crushed by the German socialist government, and were killed.
Why did the Spartakus revolt fail? What factors might have been altered to bring it greater success?
The Spartakus Revolts ultimately failed due to President Friedrich Ebert’s strategic maneuvers and his use of the Freikorps to bring order back into Germany. During the beginning of the revolts in January of 1919, Ebert withdrew his government to the safety of Weimar Germany and allowed the Freikorps to do their job to restore balance and order. This however, came at the price of many Spartacist and Communist lives. Had the Spartacists been properly trained with military training and been given the proper equipment, including firearms, then perhaps the Spartakus Revolts would have been much more successful. Another factor which could have also led to the prolonging and success of the movement was to have more than two true leaders of the movement. After Liebknecht and Luxemburg died, the party ultimately fell into temporary disarray, and by 1928 had fallen into a minority political party.
To what extent were the German reactions to the Spartakus movement a reaction to the events in Russia at the same time?
The German reactions to the Spartakus movement was connected to the events going on in Russia due to the spread of communism. After German soldiers had returned home from the war front, they had become disillusioned with the German government and became suspicious of anything to do with left-winged political beliefs which mimicked the “Red Plague” or spread of communism found in Russia. The Germans were not going to tolerate such radical viewpoints to be accepted in their native country, so with the rise of the Spartacus League came trouble. From the beginning Liebknecht and Luxemburg outwardly spoke with a left-winged fashion, and seemed to support the “Red Plague” so many Germans were eager to avoid. Because of these firmly held beliefs and dispositions against communism, the Spartakus Revolt failed, which directly reflected the German people’s viewpoint of the Red Plague occurring in Russia at the time.
Works Cited:
Riddell, John. "Germany 1919 The Spartacist Uprising." Socialist Party. Socialist
Party, 28 Jan. 2009. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. <http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/6836/28-01-2009/germany-1919-the-spartacist-uprising>.
"The Spartacists." The Spartacists. History Learning Site, n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/spartacists.htm>.
Weitz, Eric D. ""Rosa Luxemburg Belongs to Us!" German Communism and the Luxemburg Legacy." Central European History. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University, 1994. 27-64. JSTOR. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/4546390>.
The Weimar Republic:
1) What were the founding principles of the Weimar Republic, and how did those parallel or depart from the organizing principles of the preceding Second Reich?
Weimar Republic:
After Germany lost the First World War, the Kaiser fled and a new democratic government of Germany was declared in February 1919 at the small town of Weimar. The new country had the following founding principles:
- A Bill of Rights guaranteed every German citizen freedom of speech and religion, and equality under the law.
- All men and women over the age of 20 were given the vote. This was even better than Britain where only women over 30 could vote.
- There was an elected president and an elected Reichstag (parliament).
Everything was good, but there were two major weaknesses. Hidden in the detail were two flaws that eventually destroyed the Republic:- Proportional representation - instead of voting for a Member of Parliament, Weimar Germans voted for a party. Each party was then allocated seats in the Reichstag exactly reflecting the number of people who had voted for it. This sounds fair, but in practice it was a disaster it resulted in dozens of tiny parties, with no party strong enough to get a majority, and, therefore, no government to get its laws passed in the Reichstag.
- Article 48 - this said that, in an emergency, the president did not need the agreement of the Reichstag, but could issue decrees. The problem with this was that it did not say what an emergency was, and in the end, it turned out to be a back door that Hitler used to take power legally.
Second Reich:- The German empire was an authoritarian state.
- The parliament was elected but had limited powers.
- The nobility remained strongly privileged elite, and the monarchy retained its powers, including absolute control over the military.
- Bismarck introduced the most advanced social legislation of any country and granted extensive civil rights, but he did so in order to maintain the sovereignty of the traditional elite.
- Bismarck firmly rejected all claims for the democratic rule of the majority and maintained the autocratic rule of the Prussian nobility.
- The economy was booming and German businessmen were enjoying a newfound wealth. Their patriotism was aroused by the series of German victories over its three main adversaries.
- As the new German Reich continued to expand economically, more of the population enjoyed a better financial situation, greatly increased social support from the state, and a new self-image as part of a great new world power.
- This new sense of German identity, coming at the end of more than a half century of nationalist frustrations, exerted an almost intoxicating influence, even over portions of the society that were not sharing greatly in the material gains.
The similarity between the Weimar Republic and the Second Reich is the structure of the Government2) To what extent could the Weimar Republic be viewed as instituting a legitimate liberalist democracy in Germany for the first time? What groups tended to support and oppose it?
The failure of Germany’s first true democracy was the result of choices made by Weimar Germans during its brief life. In every historical period major development such as wars, peace treaties and economic crisis limit the freedom of individual action. Certainly for Weimar Germans defeat in World War I, the Versailles Treaty, inflation and depression made the development and survival of democracy difficult. Yet while these factors were important they did not doom the Republic to inevitable failure. Within the limits imposed by these major factors numerous courses of action and results were possible and were determined by decisions and choices that individuals made. The fate of the Weimar Republic was in the hands of its leaders and its citizens.
Communist Party (KPD) - The Communists were in favor of a Russian style dictatorship and during the Weimar period fell more and more under the control of the Communist international based in Moscow. While the party had a strong feminist agenda, as well as the only prominent woman party leaders and the most women candidates for office across the political spectrum, this position did not translate into substantial female voting support. Although the party opposed anti-Semitism and had Jews among its leaders, very few German Jews voted Communist. During the crisis of the last Weimar years the parties voting strength grew substantially as it attracted support from the growing ranks of the unemployed.
German Nationalist People’s Party (DNVP) - The party attracted the more conservative elements among the white collar clerical and retail sales workers. It was militaristic, resistant to republican government, opposed to attempts to fulfill the terms of the Versailles treaty, and anti-Semitic.
3) Why did the Weimar Republic fail to provide political & social stability for Germany? To what extent was National Socialism (the Nazi movement) rooted in these failures?
The Weimar Republic was created at a time of confusion and chaos after Germany had lost the First World War. Many people felt that Germany had received a very harsh deal in the Treaty of Versailles and they resented the government for signing it and agreeing to its conditions.
Germany between 1918 and 1919 was in chaos. People were starving, the Kaiser had fled and people hated the government for signing the armistice in November 1918 - they called them the November criminals.
Bibliography:
“Choices and Consequences in Weimar Germany." Overview. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.
"Mizzou OnlineGerman 2320: German Civilization 1850 to Present (Writing Intensive)."